Aston Villa dodged a potential injury to Matty Cash after the right-back limped off during Poland’s 1-0 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina with an apparent leg issue.
Fortunately, it turned out to just be a dead leg for Cash, who is expected to be fit for Villa’s busy upcoming schedule as they return to Premier League and Champions League action.
But despite the lucky escape, Aaron Wan-Bissaka could still start ahead of Cash in Saturday’s clash with Brentford at Villa Park.
Cash may have avoided injury, but he still played nearly 300 minutes of football for his national team during the extended international window.
Wan-Bissaka on the other hand only played two games for DR Congo in their qualifiers for next summer’s AFCON finals. He decided to skip their subsequent two friendlies against Uganda and instead joined up with Villa’s midseason training camp in Spain.
Not only will his lack of minutes played compared to Cash stand him in good stead, but also the extra time spent with Unai Emery will help speed up Wan-Bissaka’s acclimation to his system, and no doubt the eagerness to return to Villa early will have pleased the manager.
Even though his issue is very minor, Villa may want to be careful with Cash, especially as he was already injured earlier this season, causing him to miss multiple games.
With such a hectic schedule in October, there will be plenty of playing time to go around as Villa play twice a week for the entire month.
By playing Wan-Bissaka against Brentford, Emery could allow Cash a full week to ramp back up and get ready to start the Champions League contest against Fenerbahce next Wednesday.
Partly due to Cash’s previous injury, Wan-Bissaka started Villa’s last three games before the international break against Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in the league as well as Coventry City in the Carabao Cup.
He was however subbed off at half-time for Cash in the Spurs contest after struggling somewhat in the first 45 minutes.
Wan-Bissaka may be the preferred option against Brentford for more than just load management reasons. He may also be the smarter tactical choice.
Kevin Schade, who has started on the left-wing for Brentford in four of their five league games so far, is a very quick, direct threat, and already has three goals and an assist to his name early in the season.
The defensive capabilities of Wan-Bissaka may therefore be a better fit for this specific game than Cash, who offers more going forward but can be hit-or-miss defensively.
If Wan-Bissaka does indeed start on Saturday, it will be a big opportunity for him to prove he is progressing in Emery’s way of playing and maybe even get ahead of Cash in the pecking order.
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